My son received a bacon calendar for Christmas, and the January recipe was potato-bacon pancakes. Too many ingredients which included eggs, which my son can’t have. So I simplified, and they’re oh so delicious.

4 slices bacon, fried, and crumbled (save the grease!)

2 scallons, finely minced, including the green part

salt & pepper to taste

4 medium red potatoes, shredded (I put in a tea towel and squeezed as much of the juice out as possible)

Combine all the ingredients. In the same frypan that you fried the bacon and saved the grease, place about 2 Tbs of the potato mixture and spread out so it’s maybe 1/3″ thick. Fry for 5 minutes on the first side, then flip and fry for 3 minutes more. You may need more bacon grease for the second and third batch. My batch made 8 4″ diameter potato pancakes.

In a large mixing bowl, cream together the Earth Balance, shortening and sugar, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg. Beat in the vanilla, crushed star anise, lemon juice and zest, baking powder and salt. Mix in the flour, 1 cup at a time, until it is well blended.

Place parchment on insulated baking sheet. Divide the dough into two equal pieces, and shape each piece into a rough 12-inch log, leaving about 3 inches between each log. Wet your fingers, and pat the logs into smooth-topped rectangles 12 inches long x 2 1/2 inches wide x 3/4 inch thick.

Bake the logs in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until they’re beginning to brown around the edges. Remove them from the oven, and allow them to cool for 30 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 300°F.

Use a serrated knife to cut the logs into 1/2-inch wide slices. Carefully place the cut sides up (and down) still on the parchment-lined baking sheet.

Return the biscotti to the 300°F oven, and bake them for 20 minutes. Remove them from the oven, quickly turn them over, and bake for an additional 20 minutes, or until they’re very dry and beginning to brown. Remove them from the oven, cool completely, and store in an airtight container.

The first time I made these, I used eggs. They were so good that my youngest daughter asked me to make them egg-free so that my son could have them too. Warning, they’re very addictive. Thanks to Corinne for naming them for me!

I wanted coffeecake for Christmas morning. My husband’s family tradition is called Peach Flip (but made with apricots) and I tried to duplicate that last year, and I wasn’t thrilled (not that I let it stop me from eating it all). But my favorite pastry by far, from my youth, was the poppyseed danish.

Mix all ingredients together in stand mixer, for about 3 minutes. Divide dough into two parts. Roll out one into a rectangle, about 1/4″ thick. I spread canned poppyseed filling that was safe for us onto it. Rolled it up, and placed it seam-side down on a cookie sheet. Then for the other one, I rolled it out, spread it with some more of the Earth Balance soy-free margarine, and then sprinkled it with cinnamon sugar, and rolled that one up, and put it seam-side down on the cookie sheet. I let them rise for about 45 minutes, but nothing happened. So I baked it in a preheated 350F oven for 45 minutes. My kids ate the cinnamon-sugar one, and I ate the poppyseed filled one. I was going to glaze it with some confectioners sugar-coconut milk icing, but I never got around to it.

I’m so glad we got apples back for my son and youngest daughter. And on the rotation, today is apple day, so I converted my old flour/butter/egg fritter recipe into one they could have. Of course my husband ate half of them before I even called the kids for breakfast!

1 c. sorghum flour

1/2 c. tapioca flour

1 1/2 tsp. karaya gum

1/2 c. cane or beet sugar

1/2 tsp. sea salt

1 flax egg

1/2 c. coconut, almond or rice milk

2 apples, peeled and diced (I use Granny Smith)

1 Tbs. olive oil

1/4 tsp. freshly ground nutmeg

Stir dry ingredients in bowl. Add milk, oil, and flax egg into dry mixture. Then stir in apples. Drop into preheated 350F oil in deep fryer. Cook about 10 minutes, flipping once to make sure it’s cooked all the way around. Drain on paper towels, then sha